John Michael turned six last week and he had a few simple birthday requests. He wanted banana pudding, pizza from the restaurant "so mommy didn't have to make it" (he's either our sweetest child or the one most likely to enter into politics), a trip to an aquarium, and to not have to sweep the kitchen at all, all day--his usual daily chore.
Words cannot express how much he despises sweeping.
I think all of his birthday dreams came true. The nearest aquarium is in Boston, which is not ideal for those of us who hate venturing out into crowded places, but Aunt Courtney said she would send the whole family off on the excursion as her gift for John this year so we made the trek into the big city. It was actually pretty fun and John loved every minute of it. North Carolina aquariums are still my favorite, but this one was certainly better than say, Baltimore, especially for ease of navigation once inside and your ability to bring a stroller in.
John pretty much loves every gift he's ever been given and this birthday was no exception. He's been on a bit of a robot kick so he especially liked all the robots and the fact that he can make them fight against each other. The big boys pooled their money to buy him the Ninjago spinning Lego thingee of his dreams. Now that the kids are older, it's always my favorite to see what gifts they give to each other. It almost always involves emptying out their wallets of all of their hard earned cash. My kids might be a lot of things but they sure aren't stingy. It's always nice to be reminded at each birthday and holiday that deep, deep, deep, deep down inside themselves they really do love each other. A lot.
And John didn't sweep the kitchen once.